In the deep night, the faint light of the kerosene lamp flickered; Yudkao drunkenly felt the wall and staggered all the way to his residence. After entering through the door, he walked up to the second floor on the creaking old wooden stairs.
Dr. Youdekao, whose clothes were disheveled from drinking, stood outside his house and patted his trouser pockets.
"Huh? Damn it, where are my keys
Oops! Maybe I forgot I was at the Black Pepper while drinking, or I forgot I was at the hospital, and it’s not practical to walk back to the Black Pepper or the hospital now.
Fortunately, although Boss Mills looks rough, he is actually a very careful person. If the key was in the Black Pepper Bar, he would definitely keep it for me.
Oh. I'd better let that vicious woman open the door for me. I don't know if she has gone to bed. After all, it's late at night now."
Yudekao thought so.
When he was about to knock on the door, Youdekao discovered rustling sounds in the house, accompanied by the creaking sound of wooden furniture rubbing against the broken floor.
"Something's wrong! Is there a thief in the house?" You Dekao was in a state of panic, thinking that with his frail body, he might not be able to beat the thief with his bare hands! But his wife was the only one at home, so he had to think of a solution!
He adjusted his breathing, took a long breath, slowly slowed down and lightened the rhythm of his breathing, then tiptoed to the corridor to get a long wooden broom, and hid his figure in the shadow under the stairs leading to the third-floor rooftop which was usually closed.
He waited patiently for the thief to come out of the door, holding the broom in his hand as if he was holding the sword of the king, which gave him a lot of confidence and courage.
Holding the broom high all the time made Yudekao's arm muscles a little stiff. At the same time, he held his breath and listened quietly to the movements in the room, as if any slight sound at this time would stimulate his sensitive nerves.
Suddenly, there were sounds from inside the door such as a man's deep breathing and a woman's deliberately suppressed moans.
"What?!" Now that he understood what had happened in the house, You Dekao felt mixed emotions. His chest felt stuffy and he couldn't breathe.
After a while, a tall and strong man with a fierce face walked out of Yudekao's house. He was disheveled and even his pants were not zipped up when he hurriedly prepared to leave. He did not even notice Yudekao's hidden figure. This was the time when Dr. Yudekao usually went home after working the night shift.
Dr. Youdekao's shift today was the middle shift, so he deliberately concealed the truth from the vicious woman in advance so that he could have some lazy and enjoyable personal time. However, he did not expect to see such a shocking but "wonderful" scene.
Yudekao's drunkenness was instantly washed away by negative emotions such as anger, unwillingness, and grief. He even had a crazy, no, insane thought in his mind, which was to kill this man!
At the moment he clenched the wooden broom in his hand and was about to swing it down from a high place, Youdekao regained his composure and stopped his actions.
He saw his wife from France coming out of the door and calling out to the man who was in a hurry.
"Eisen, you damned bastard, come earlier next time, he's almost back..."
"Got it." The man named Eisen responded.
Yudkau's wife was named Sarita, a French woman. She was designated as the marriage partner by her parents when she was young.
Sarita used to be a blonde beauty, but since moving to Germany, she has gained weight, her physique has begun to develop horizontally, and she loves drinking more than Yudkau.
When he is sober, his temper is relatively easy-going, but after drinking, he seems to become a different person, becoming irritable, excited, and even promiscuous.
The last point is simply due to the French bloodline that loves romance and freedom. There are even a majority of French people who believe that cheating is just a spice of life. ①
But this was unbearable for the strict and traditional Germans. It just so happened that Yudkao was a traditional German who was born and raised in Germany. If this got out, it would be like being stripped naked and whipped in public, a humiliation.
But Yudkao did not make any move at this moment, because he recognized this Aisen, he was a famous butcher in Umr City. He was not only physically strong, but also had a fierce look in his eyes due to long-term slaughtering of livestock.
Because of his profession as a butcher, he has also developed strong arm, wrist and waist strength: the arm and wrist strength are used for cutting and slaughtering, and the waist strength is used for carrying. He can easily lift a slaughtered cow without the aid of any tools.
After a brief calculation in his mind, You Dekao gave up. It was not that he gave up revenge, the hatred would always be buried in his heart, but now was not the time for a head-on confrontation, and there was nothing he could do if he couldn't win.
Besides, it would be embarrassing to go out now. Maybe the butcher Eisen would kill Youdekao. Having an affair with a married woman is different from playing with a young widow. This is an immoral act and may hurt Eisen's reputation.
Yudkao watched Eisen turn around and hug his vicious woman, and Sarita reluctantly straightened the collar of the butcher Eisen.
It seems that these two people have been having an affair for quite some time, and no one knows when the affair started.
Youdekao was feeling sad, thinking that maybe he was a competent doctor, but not necessarily a competent husband, otherwise his wife would not have betrayed him like this.
After Aisen left, Youdekao waited for a while and stood alone at the door, thinking about how to face his wife. He reached out and patted his cheek gently, trying his best to put on a forced smile, and then rang the doorbell.
"Coming, coming," Sarita's voice came from inside the door.
"Why did Yudkao come back so early? Did he run into Eisen?"
Sarita thought to herself.
Yu Dekao smiled falsely at his wife, whose face was still slightly flushed but who dared not look directly at him, and said,
"I'm back."
Sarita reached out and took Yudkao's coat, hung it on the hanger by the door, and said,
"Have you had dinner? There are still some leftovers in the kitchen. You know, I usually take care of it myself when you are on the night shift."
After Sarita finished speaking, she ignored Yudkao and went to the wine cabinet in the living room to take out a bottle of malt whiskey and started drinking it by herself.
Youdekao first nodded to indicate that he had already enjoyed his dinner, and then silently returned to the bedroom to take out his clothes.
In the bathroom, he lay in the bathtub, sighing silently at his body that had become out of shape due to overwork.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!" This was the roar in his heart, "How should I face you?!"
As the hot water in the bathtub gradually lost its temperature, Yudekao's anger began to subside, and he felt more unwilling and helpless.
In the past, he had discussed related issues with his colleagues in the hospital's andrology department, but the professional male colleague stopped responding after concluding that recovery was impossible.
Youdekao also knows that this problem is more due to aging and psychological barriers, and it is an extremely embarrassing problem for all men.
But on the second day, the doctors and nurses in the hospital looked at Yudkao with pitying and mocking eyes while still pretending to smile. It was obvious that the colleague had revealed the embarrassing secret.
"Why am I so cowardly, why am I so incompetent!"
Youdekao grabbed a few strands of hair from his head. From the reflection in the water, he saw the moonlight outside the window, his own haggard and old face, and the few remaining hairs on his head.
"These talkative bitches!"
He put his hand back into the water, and ripples appeared on the surface. He lay on his side and looked at the pale moon outside the window, but he did not notice that his reflection was smiling hideously. The color in the water suddenly turned blood red.
Putting aside the sigh in his heart, he put on his clothes, returned to his bed in the bedroom, and slowly fell asleep.
Although he pretended that nothing mattered and that nothing was wrong, an evil seed had already been planted in Youdekao's heart. It sprouted and took root silently, and would eventually grow into that evil and enchanting flower.
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After Kirk recovered, Hermann took Kirk and little Albert home from the hospital to recuperate, and hired a personal maid to take care of the still weak Kirk and the fragile little boy.
After a few days, Albert's full moon was approaching, and Hermann was preparing to invite neighbors and relatives to a family dinner. No, perhaps it would be more appropriate to say it was a celebration.
After sending out invitations, the servants were busy purchasing ingredients for the banquet and decorating the house, while Hermann himself came to the grocery store of Puvent. Puvent had fine wines from the East, which were top-quality for entertaining guests. Of course, he also needed to prepare some whiskey, Jagermeister, famous red wine from Bordeaux winery in France, and white wine produced by Klaus Eberbach Abbey Winery, the most luxurious and high-end winery in Germany.
"Good day, Mr. Provent, how's business today?"
Hermann took off his hat and saluted Purvant who was busy in the store.
Puwent looked up and thought,
"Hey, it's Herman, what a rare visitor! Looks like I'll have some business today. I have to sell something with high profits."
But Puwent said,
"Oh, you are Mr. Hermann. Thanks to you, business is quite good today.
Look! This is a good thing that was just delivered today, oriental incense, said to come from an island country called Fuso. "
Puwent responded while carrying various goods with sweat on his face, and continued,
"I am very sorry, but there is no place for a gentleman like you to sit. As you can see, this place is filled with all kinds of goods."
Herman said,
"That's not a problem, Mr. Provent, I can just stand. Do you have any fine wine from the East? I need some, and I also need some other sundries. Here is the list, take a look."
After taking the list from Herman and taking a quick look at it, Pwent said,
"Most of them are available. With so many items, are you planning to have a party?"
Herman smiled and responded,
"That's great, Mr. Provent, our Einstein family's baby is about to be one month old, so we want to invite neighbors, relatives and friends to come and bless the child.
This is a grand banquet, and of course you and your family are also welcome to join us.
The date is April 14th, please be sure to come."
After that, Hermann took out the invitation from his pocket and handed it to Purvant with both hands.
Puvent also took it very politely and put it on the cashier's counter. Then he sorted out a lot of goods according to the list. He asked Herman,
"I don't think you can take the things here back by yourself today, sir.
If it is convenient for you, I can deliver the goods to your house. It will only cost you fifty pfennigs for the delivery fee.
The total here is thirty-five gold marks.
Well, I'll give you this Oriental picture album as a gift as well.
I believe you will be able to use it before your ladyship recovers."
After he finished speaking, Puwent smiled and winked, but he thought to himself, "A worthless picture album can be exchanged for the friendship of a big businessman. This deal is too good to be true!"
Hermann took the Japanese picture album without knowing why, put it in his arms, and paid forty gold marks as a reward and the price of the picture album.
No one expected that this picture album would lead to the series of tragedies that followed.
—————————————
April 14, 1879
The band played festive music in the hall.
Hermann specially invited a famous band to be the resident performers for tonight's feast. They will match the music that best suits the atmosphere at the time for various occasions. It only costs 20 gold marks and a dinner for one night, which is very cost-effective.
The slightly extravagant spending did not hinder Herman's happy mood.
In order to prepare for this banquet, he also specially hired chefs from high-end restaurants to make a variety of exquisite dishes, snacks and cold dishes.
As the guests came in one after another, Mr. Hermann, wearing a neat and seamless suit, shiny leather shoes, holding a black oak cane in one hand, and Mrs. Kirk, who was wearing a light yellow dress and had fluffy hair, made a grand appearance holding the protagonist of the day, Albert, and they walked slowly down the stairs on the second floor to the hall.
The crystal chandelier on the ceiling illuminates the entire hall, which is a mixture of ancient art and new technology appliances, and the guests applauded for it.
Herman said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone present here. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come to Albert's full moon banquet. I hereby declare that the banquet is officially open!"
People in the hall cheered immediately. With the lively music, the men invited the gorgeously dressed ladies around them and formed pairs of dancing butterflies on the dance floor.
"Hey, Dr. Yudkao, hello." Purvant greeted Dr. Yudkao who was selecting food.
"Mr. Provent, what a coincidence that I can meet you here today." Youdekao replied.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. Could you please make way for me? I'd like to get a glass of champagne over there."
The man who was speaking was tall, about 1.8 meters tall, about the same height as Eisen, but his temperament was much more elegant than that rough man. These were the conclusions that Youdekao came to after a quick look, and then he stepped back and said, "Sir, my pleasure."
Puwente looked at the person who came and slapped his head and said,
"It's you, Elphis Wasap. Why are you here?"
Wearing white gloves, and elegantly holding the bottom of the champagne glass, Elphis said,
"Theoretically you should call me brother-in-law, Provent. Your speech is still so rude.
I really don't understand why my lovely cousin Ariana wanted to marry you.
Oh, excuse me, that was a slip of the tongue, I'm so sorry.
As for why I am here, it is because Mr. Herman and I have a business cooperation.
Last quarter, my company sent me as a representative to negotiate a 30,000 gold mark electrical appliance business with Mr. Hermann in Ulm. I was naturally invited, because I symbolize the presence of the financial sponsor. "
Elphis has a proud yet indifferent temperament, but he feels a little contempt for Purvent in his heart.
But Youdekao felt that this person looked familiar, so he asked,
"Mr. Elphis, have I seen you before? My name is Yudko, and I'm a doctor."
"Dr. Youdekao, it's nice to meet you. I hope you won't have the chance to see me when you make your rounds in the wards in the future."
Elphis went on to say,
"Your memory is amazing. Indeed, we met by chance outside the Black Pepper Bar. Look, do you remember this pipe?"